Velocipede



(No Model.) 8 I 8Sheets-Sheet 1. 0. H. WARNER.

1 VELOGIPEDE. I No. 282,938. Patented Aug. 7, 1883.

R I a 4 'Ef- A I T5212- \M'TNEEEEE INVENTEJ (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2C. H. WARNER.

VELOGIPEDE.

No. 282,938. Patented Aug. 7, 1883.

ti nfiL WiTNEEEEE I INVEN E R u. PETERS; mume w. WM 9.0.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-She=et 3. G. H. WARNER.

VELOUIPEDB.

No. 282,938. Patented Aug. 7, 1883.

\A/I QEEEEE a |WENTUF UNITED STATES PATENT OFEICE. 4

-' CHA LES H. WARNER, on BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

" VELOCIPEDE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of 'Letters Patent N o. 282,938 dated August'7, 1883. Application filed June 17, race. (N model.)

To all whom it may concern: I

Beit known thatl, CHARLES H. "WARNER, of Boston, in the county ofSuffolk and State 1 of Massachusetts, have invented certain newanduseful Improvements in Bicycles andother' Veloeipedes, of which thefollowing is a speci fication. v

Heretofore the prevailing construction of a bicycle asto its drivingmechanism has been 1 to that of a driving-wheel ona fixed axle,havingits bearing on either side the wheel in the frame of the bicycle, andwith oppositely-proj ecting foot-cranks attached, one to each. end ofthe axle outside of the bearing, by means of the revolution of whichcranks the bicycle is propelled by the foot of the rider. Otherconstructions have been contrived by which the crank was attached toa-different shaft, connected with theiaxle of the driving-wheel by 2ogears or toothed wheels; and various other contrivances have beendevised, all of which required. thatthe seat of the rider be placednearly up to a vertical position over the axle i of the driving-wheel;but the difficulties I of I noise, of increased friction, of loss ofleverage, and otherwise attending these departures from the constructionfirst above mentioned, have been such as to prevent their generaladoption. A number of different contrivances have been appliedtotwo-wheeled velocipedes in the'effort to produce a machine on which theseat for the rider could be placed far enough back from aperpendicularthrough the axle of the forward wheel to insure the safety ofthe rideragainst being pitched forward by the passage of the forward wheel overobstructions, and these two-wheeled velocipedcs have-sometim es beenreferred to as safety bicycles. In some the oppositely proj ectingcranks upon the axleof the forward wheel have been retained with leverattachments more or less practicablefor carrying the pedal or pointofapplication forthe foot of therider backward, so that thegeneralnecessity may be met which exists in velocipedes, for their bestpracticable construction of having the pedal nearly under the seat ofthe rider, so that the rider may. propel by changing his weight from onefoot to the other, inthe natural manner of walking. In some of theseconstructions the cranks have been abandoned and clutch mechanismapplied, consisting of ratchet-wheels with clicks,

drums, and strapsand levers, &c., in all of which, so far as I am aware,the difficulties before referre'dto of noise in operation, increasedfriction, loss of leverage, and complication and weakness, or liabilityto breakage and' displacements, in the details of construction, havebeen incident.

. It is the object of my improvements to con structa two-wheeledvelocipede in which the I seat of the rider may be placed at a safedistance from a perpendicular through either axle, and at the sametimein an advantageous position in other respects as to propelling,

.ste'ering, &c., to overcome the difficulties re ferred to, and tosupply a driving mechanism which may be used either in atwo-wheeledvelocipede or in other forms of foot-propelled vehicles, which shall bedirect and noiseless in action, enable the rider. to propel with lessexertion than hasheretofore been required, and to impel his foot througha shorter are; also, to provide a driving mechanism by means of whichthe speed of the velocipede may be geared up or .geared down; also, topro-' vide a driving mechanism by the use of which the operativemovement of the feet maybe fully utilized. and the intervals between theoperative movements may be attended with rest instead of idle exertion;and other objects, as Well as the peculiar nature of myimprovements,will appear from the following description and theaccompanying drawings.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a two- 6 ments in side elevation.Fig. 2 shows a side plan view of the driving mechanism made larger. Fig.3 shows the same in elevation as seen fiom the rear-that is, at rightangles to the plane of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 shows in vertical section the sameparts as Fig. 3 on a plane passing through the center of the axle of theI driving-wheel; Fig. 5 shows a view of a part i of the contrivance asSeen looking into the hub of the wheel from the dotted line w m, withthe outer parts of the mechanism removed. Fig. 6 shows a part of theinterior mechanism from the inside of the wheel looking outward, being asection on the dotted line 9! 3 Fig. 7 shows in detail a part of thedriving mechanism operating the secondary shaft, as seen Figs. 8,

from the left on the dotted line as w. 9, and 10 show modifications ofthe mechan- IOO ism which will be described farther on. Fig. 11' showsone end of my improved pedal, and Fig. 12 shows a vertical sectionthrough the middle of my improved pedal on a plane passingthrough thecenter of the pedal-pin or bearing-centers.

A-is a" front driving-wheel. A is a rear wheel. A is a head. A is aperch. S is a saddle. A is an axle to .which a hub, A is fixed. Thewheel A is a suspension-wheel having two hubs or flanges, A and myimprovements in driving mechanism are applied to the outer end of eachof these flanges, where a rigid wheel should be used having but one hub;or where two wheels should be used on the same axle, or on axles whosecenters should be in the same line, obvious modifications would be madein the attachment of the driving mechanism.

B is a front fork or part of the frame of a velocipede, at the bottom ofwhich is a clamp, on, or equivalent means of attachment to abearing-box. In the contrivance shown the clamp is of inverted- U shape,and in each arm is a hole, a, for a belt, which corresponds with a hole,n, in the bearing-boxes, and through which holes a belt is passed forsecuring the parts together.

B is a composite bearing-box,which, as constructed for the contrivanceshown, contains a cylindrical part to form a bearing for the axle, acylindrical part to form a bearing for a secondary or rocking shaft, alarger cylindrical part made hollow to inclose gears or other connectingmechanism between the secondary shaft, and a driving-shaft partlyinclosed within this part and partly within a smaller cylindrical partwhich incloses the driving-shaft and takes a bearing against the cap ordisk 0, and which also has a part adapted to receive and cover a rockinglever, and another part adapted to receive a clamp for connecting withthe front fork or frame of the velocipede. This composite bearing-boxmay be made in one solid piece of metal, consisting of the several partsenumerated; or it may be made in several parts attached together. Asshown in the drawings, Fig. 4, it is divided .at the points I) b, sothat the parts which inclose the adjacent ends of the driving-shaft andthe secondary shaft and their connecting mechanism are in a separatepiece, suitably fitted to the other, which for convenience is lettered B0 is a disk or circular metallic cap, threaded on its outer periphery,and which may be screwed into the hub or flange A between this disk 0and the bearing of the composite box B B Upon it I insert a felt washer,If, to prevent access of dust and at the juncture of the parts of thecomposite box I usually make either a threaded joint or a felt insertionto keep out the dust.

bb are screw-caps, as are also 0 0 a a a a are oil-holes.

D is a counter-shaft or rock-shaft. segment-gear, with teeth (Z.

D is a D is a toothed wheel, having teeth d, and which is attached tothe driving shaft or sleeve A. This driving-shaft A, as shown in Fig. 1,is hollow, and incloses the axle A both be- 'yond and within the flangeor hub A and bears at one end the toothed wheel or pinion D and at theother end an arm, D fixed thereon. This arm or projection D is shown inFig. 5.

D* is an eccentric disk or link connected with D by a pivot, (1 l p D isa shoe connected with D by apivot, D.

D is a spring attached to D and operating against a small stud on D.

E is a rocking lever; E, aclamp, slotted at e.

E is a bolt to secure the clamp E and the rocking lever E together. l

E is a spline to hold E from turning on the secondary shaft D.

e e are serrated surfaces, by which the clamp E and'the lever E may bemore securely held from turning upon each other when brought together bythe bolt E F is a lever or arm connected at one end with a. pedal. andat the other adapted to be held in the clamp E.

F is a pedal.

F is a spindle, which may be the lever F.

F is a step for one end of the spindle F and F is a step for the otherend of a spindle, F F being made adjustable by the means of attached toan external thread working within an inter nal thread in the flange andits projections. f f are flanges or end plates of the pedal. f f arebars connecting the end plates or flanges.

f 2 f 2 are rubber bars.

f 3 f 3 are cone-centers on the spindle F, which take a pivot-bearing inthe steps F 11. Instead of this specific construction, the concaveconical parts of these bearings may be in the spindle and the convexconical parts in the steps.

' ff are nuts. f f are bushings or projections.

D, inFig. 10, is a projection or arm of a different form from that shownat D, connected by the link D with the projection D attached to theshaft A. I

D is a link connecting'an arm, D, attached to the shoe A in place of thearm D withthe shaft D Heretofore the method of construction of pedalsfor bicycles has been to have the two end flanges connected by bars, andalso by a hollow shaft or tube through the middle of the pedal betweenthe flanges, or else segments of such a tube, and within this middletube to have a pedal-pin, on the exterior of which were the bearings onwhich the pedal revolved or rocked, which might be called a f socketbearing pedal, while this which I have described is a center" bearingpedal. The advantages of my improved construction are that the amount offriction is reduced, the weight IIO is less, the pedal can be easilyadjusted for,

252,93s s j wear, Itis applicable to all bicycles in a velocipede I-where entire revolution of the pedal on its bearings is not required. Imake the bars f f fiat and wide and thin, and the bars f f of rubber,with a roughenedupper surface, to afford the bearing for the sole of theboot of I the rider. In this way I make a very light pedal, because mostof the lower or idle half I ro -is removed. The method of adjustment isby loosening the set-nut f and turning upthe step F with a screw-driverand otherwise I until a proper bearing is formed, and then setting upthe nut f again. S is a spring at- I 5 tached at one end to the fork Bor frame of the velocipede, and at the other end attached I to thepedal-bearing bar F. I z

I make the bicycle with greater rake than usual-that is, fork B inclinesat a greater I angle from the perpendicular through the I driving-axle,as shown in Fig. 1. This carries the saddle S also farther back, andhence to retain a the same position for the rider and a amore nearlyvertical position, as inworking, than can be attainedon the bicycle ofusual I construction, I carry the pedal F farther back also. Whenthefoot is pressed upon the pedal F, it depresses the bar F against theslight ten- I I sion of the springS, which serves, when press- 3o ure iswithdrawn from the pedal F, to restore 1L Thebar F is adjusted forlengthby sliding it I in the clamp E and then tightening the'clamp. I IThe nuts I) b and 0'0 serve as caps to keep 3,5 out the dust and keep inthe oil, which latter I may be injectedinto the hollow part of the axleA andof the shaft D, and which thence works through the small oil-holesa a and I lubricates every part of the bearing-box and I no mechanismtherein. I

I The operation of the machine constructed I as shown inthedrawingsis asfollows: Pressure of the foot applied at the pedal depresseswhichturnsthesecondaryshaftD, which bears I the arm or segment-gear D,(turning it in the opposite directionfrom the movement of the arm E,)which engages with the pinion D (turning it to the right,) which isfixed upon the driving-shaft D and carries the latter to the right orforward, which receives the arm or projection D which, through the linkor connecting-eccentric D, presses the block D against the hub orflangeA within the recesses therein, and so turns the wheel A forward.The block D is not pivoted to the link- D in a right line through thepivot D and the I center of theshaft AF", but at a point forward of'Iit, so thatthe forward movement of the link D operates not only as anarm to drive the block D and with it the wheel, forward, but also as awedge to press the block D outward against the interior wall of theflange, andof course the greater the power the harder the block bites.\Vhen the power is with the bar to its upward position, as shownin Fig.

i the bar F, which swings the rocking lever E,

and it is also very neat in appearance. I drawn the spring D acts tothrow the link D backward and release theblock D Instead of thesegment-gear and pinion, as

shown in Fig. 7 the arms and link shown in Fig. 10 may be used toaccomplish the same result, and, I think, afford a stronger method ofconstruction.

Instead of the eccentric or circular link D, (shown in Fig. 5 with thelong arm D a shorter arm, D, and a shorter link, D may be used, as shownin Fig. 9, when aspring is not necessary, as the operation of theshorter arm D is such I as'to release the block D immediately, and thisconstruction is simpler than the other. block D may be serrated on theop eratingedge, as shown in Fig. 8, and the wall of the cavity in thehub upon which it operates may be also engagement between the block andthe hub, though the friction bite is sufficient, I think, for practicaluse.

It is obvious that the parts may be constructed so as to make the wheelrevolve through a greater or less partof a revolution at each depressionof the bar F, and by this means the mechanism may be geared up or geareddownfor speed with greater power, or for ease with less speed. s e l u Ido not mean to limit myself to the precise construction andmodifications shown in the embodying mechanism described, though I thinkI have shown the best form for attaching the same to a bicycle. Inattaching my driving mechanism to a tricycle or other form of velocipedeit may be desirable to use a different shape of the bar F, to place thesecondary shaft D at a greater distance from the driving-shaft A, or todispense with the. sec ondary shaft and attach the arm E to thedriving-shaft; or other modifications may be made, as required I amaware of Letters Patent No. 243,346, dated June 21, 1881, to I13. Price,and No. 247,809, dated October 4, 1881', to J. Dutton, English PatentNo. 1,956 of 1877, and I do not claim anything described and showntherein.

I claim as new and of my invention- 1. The described velocipede pedalconstructed with a frame having bars for bear- The" serrated, so as tomake ,a quicker and surer ings for the foot, end pieces formed to takethe I i 5 ing adjustable, and a rocking spindle having I center bearingsin said seats and taking its support between the bearings, substantiallyas set forth. I 2. Constructed and adapted for operating the secondaryshaft of driving mechanism for a velocipede, the pedal-lever F, clamp E,and rocking lever E, substantially as shown and described. r I 3.Constructed and adapted to be combined with the frame and driving-wheelof a velocipede, the composite bearing-box B, having a bearing forsupport on the axle, a bearing for a driving-shaft, a bearing for asecondary shaft, and a cavity to inclose mechanism for connecting saidshafts, an opening for a rocking lever, and a lug for attachment to theframe, 5 essentially as set forth.

4. In a velocipede, the driving-shaft A, arm D link D, block D spring D,and a pinion, D and gear D, combined and constructed to operatesubstantially as and for the purposes IO specified.

5. In a Velocipede, the combination of shaft D, arm E, and-a pedalleverattached thereto, arms D and D link D, and afast and loosedriving-shaft, A, with means of connecting the same with adriving-wheel, constructed I 5 and adapted to operate essentially as setforth.

6. The described two-wheeled safety velocipede, constructed with a smallrudder-wheel and a large driving-wheel, a pedal-lever, F,

secondary shaft D, and driving-shaft A, with 20

